The present invention relates to an extraction device. In particular, the present invention relates to an extraction device which has particular application for extracting conductive pins providing an electrical connection for components of a disc drive.
Electrical connections between interfacing components can be made by a series or array of conductive pins. Often times one of the conductive pins in an array or series of conductive pins can become defective. The proximity and placement of conductive pins makes it difficult to remove the conductive pins for replacement. Disc drives include discs for storing data or digital information and heads to read or write data from the discs. Operating commands are transferred to the disc drive from a host system and data from the disc is transmitted to the host system. The disc drive includes electrical contacts for electrically connecting circuitry of the disc drive to the host system.
Disc drives are tested in environmental chambers to simulate various operating environments. Disc drives are inserted into environmental chambers and are connected to a host testing system to test read and write operations of the disc drive. The host testing system is connected to the disc drive via a plurality of conductive pins including a head portion and a stem portion. The pins are aligned so that the head portion contacts conductive pads or pins on the disc drive and the stem portion is conductively coupled to circuitry of the host system. If any of the conductive pins are defective, testing operation of the disc drive is compromised. Removal of defective pins is difficult because of the location of the pins in an enclosed testing chamber and the proximity of the pins to one another. The present invention addresses these and other problems and offers solutions not recognized nor appreciated by the prior art.
The present invention relates to an extraction device having first and second extraction segments for removing conductive pins in a series or array of pins. The first extraction segment is positioned at a distal end of an extraction tip and the second extraction segment is spaced therefrom. The first extraction segment includes an axial slot for transverse insertion of a stem portion of a pin and the second extraction segment is recessed from the first extraction segment to form a stepped surface between the first and second extraction segments. The dimension of the second extraction segment is non-expandable to hold a head portion of the pin in abutment with the stepped surface so that the stepped surface pushes against the head portion to eject or remove the pin.